Time for Tea with Ben, a Clinical Microbiology STP

Hi everyone! I filmed this a little while ago but had a lot on with moving house and work so am just posting it now - sorry about that. I spoke with Ben, a third year trainee on the Clinical Microbiology stream of the Welsh STP. Obviously, a lot of his time recently moved to COVID testing, which was a whole different ball game, however before that he had such a varied training plan. Part of his training has seen him working as part of Public Health Wales, within the food and water teams - which really surprised me as it sounded quite out-of-remit of the NHS! There is also a rotation within Epidemiology and Health Protection - something that's shown its importance over the last year.. His university teaching was based in London and required Ben to travel there for one day of teaching a week (pre-virtual learning). This is obviously a big commitment and is something to keep in mind when applying, however you do get a bursary so can use that towards the travel costs!
I hope this is useful to those applying/thinking of applying to microbiology! It's a super interesting sounding specialism and definitely one to think about if you want to see sides of healthcare science in other government bodies like PHE/PHW!
Stay safe,
Meg

[@mahatai9904]

Hi Meg.. Thank you both for this informative video. I'm finding it difficult to find information on whether there will be an STP programme this year (2022) in microbiology! Do you know anything about this or could you guide me on where to look? The NSHS website doesn't have any info about this. I found info about updated 2022 curricula for all specialisms. There's pretty much all specialisms in that list except microbiology unfortunately. :/

[@stpteabreakchats8932]

Hi Maha, I'm so sorry it's taken me so long to reply - I've been really busy recently! There will definitely be microbiology places up for grabs - there's a webinar happening tomorrow for applicants so if you're able to, you could join it to find out more! I think the microbiology specialism might be going through a different curriculum change but it doesn't mean there won't be places for it

[@mahatai9904]

@@stpteabreakchats8932 thanks for your reply!

[@marietatiene]

How do I apply as an international student

[@stpteabreakchats8932]

Hi Marie! There is more information on how to apply as an international student on the NSHCS website (nshcs.hee.nhs.uk/programmes/stp/applicants/stp-frequently-asked-questions/) - sorry I can't be more direct use, but I'm not sure on the process and don't want to tell you the wrong information!